


One Fine Spring Afternoon

by hobbit_hedgehog



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Friendship, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-23
Updated: 2014-09-23
Packaged: 2018-02-18 11:26:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2346797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hobbit_hedgehog/pseuds/hobbit_hedgehog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luna Lovegood takes a nice afternoon trip to find mystical beasts and leaping toadstools and makes a friend in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Fine Spring Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

> Hello friends! This was written for a UVM Quidditch team fanfiction marathon back in December (and was one of like four or five fanfictions actually posted but whatever). It's all fluff and adorableness so enjoy!

Stepping outside into the May sunshine, Luna Lovegood closed her gray eyes and inhaled deeply. A late spring breeze caressed the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, causing the topmost branches of the trees of the Forbidden Forest to sway and rustle. The sun glittered off the surface of the Black Lake as the clouds drifted overhead. A gentle smile tugged at the corners of Luna’s lips and she opened her eyes to the peaceful scene. It was a perfect day to celebrate her last few weeks at Hogwarts. Now that her NEWTS were finished, she could spend as much time as she wanted exploring the grounds before she started looking for work.

‘I think I’m going to go look for Leaping Toadstools,’ Luna thought to herself with a serine grin and a determined nod. ‘And possibly confirm daddy’s suspicions that a wild Blingerbus lives in the Forbidden Forest.’

Patting the bag hanging at her side and hearing the clinking of glass jars, Luna skipped toward the Forbidden Forest, her long hair swaying with the wind and her bouncing steps. For as beautiful of a day as it was, the grounds of Hogwarts were relatively empty of students. Probably all still busy studying for finals or sleeping them off Luna supposed. Not that she minded really, it meant that less people would interrupt her while she was working. People had the nasty habit of following her when she made her little incursions into the Forbidden Forest. Luna wouldn’t have minded as much if her followers hadn’t scared off her specimens with their noises. In hindsight, it was quite rude, but Luna wasn’t one to let such activities bother her.

Luna gracefully skipped between the first few trees of the Forbidden Forest, the shadowy canopy casting the forest into a gloomy light. With a light hum, Luna sat down and removed her shoes. She wiggled her toes as she liberated them before rising to her feet and skipping off through the forest once more. She wandered through the dense forest for a few minutes before she came across a clearing. Sun shined through in fragments, creating miniature spotlights in the little grove. A stream ran its way through the clearing, bubbling quietly as three fairies skated across the surface. Luna smiled and traveled further into the clearing.

“Hello friends,” Luna called out to the fairies, startling the small creatures momentarily before they settled again. The small creatures fluttered over to Luna, settling themselves on her shoulders and the top of her head. Luna smiled at her new companions and made her way over to the stream before sitting down. The fairies leaped off her and began to flit around, never quite leaving Luna’s side. One of the little creatures landed on Luna’s shoulder and grasped a few strands of hair in her tiny fists. Within seconds, the fairy had braided a section of Luna’s hair and was moving onto another section.

“I’m looking for some Leaping Toadstools,” Luna told the fairies. “Have you seen any around lately?”

The fairies paused in their playful activities and moved to converse with each other. Turning back to Luna, the fairies nodded and flew forward. The trio zipped around Luna’s head for a few circuits before grasping a section of her shirt. They gave a few well meaning attempts at tugging Luna to her feet before, with a giggle, Luna rose to her feet.

“Well by all means madams, lead the way.”

The fairies raced forward, leaving Luna to carefully pick her way through the forest after them. The quartet traveled in relative silence for near half an hour, the only sounds being made by Luna’s feet as she wandered through the underbrush. At long last, the fairies stopped, clearly agitated by something.

“What is it?” Luna asked, the tiniest ping of concern bubbling in her stomach. They weren’t nearly far enough into the forest for anything dangerous to be lurking nearby, so what was causing the fairies to be so distressed?

“Oh come on, don’t be like that,” a voice, a male voice, sounded from behind a bush.

Quirking an eyebrow, Luna poked her head around the shrub. Standing in the clearing, attempting to catch a rather obstinate Leaping Toadstool was a short, bespectacled boy with ginger hair that stood on end. His Hufflepuff tie hung loosely around his neck and his uniform was disheveled and dirty, giving him a rather frazzled look. Like Luna, he was carrying glass jars, one in his hand and the others lined up underneath a tree root. With a smile, Luna noticed the boy was barefoot.

“Confound these Toadstools!” the boy muttered as once again, the offending Toadstool leaped to just out of his reach as he jumped at it, causing him to crash to the forest floor in a heap.

“You’re going about it all wrong,” Luna stated kindly as she stepped out from behind the bush.

A deep blush flashed across the Hufflepuff’s cheeks as he scrambled to his feet. Luna just smiled at him serenely as she reached into the bag at her side and withdrew a single glass jar.

“You have to let them come to you,” she explained as she crouched. “If you chase them around, the Leaping Toadstools will just out leap you.”

As she explained, Luna gently coaxed the Toadstool close enough so that she could usher it into the jar. She quickly screwed the lid back on the jar before straightening. She extended the jar toward the flustered Hufflepuff boy, who stared at Luna for a moment before accepting the jar.

“Th-Thank you….” The boy murmured, looking anywhere but at Luna.

“My name’s Luna Lovegood,” the Ravenclaw girl said, extending her hand once more.

“Rolf,” the Hufflepuff muttered, lightly grasping her hand. “Rolf Scamander.”

“Nice to meet you Rolf,” Luna responded with a small smile. “Would you care to catch Toadstools with me?”

Luna watched Rolf swallow once before giving her a timid nod.

“Wonderful,” Luna said as she pulled out her collection of glass jars. “And later you can help me find the elusive Blingerbus.”

***

Before either student knew it, the afternoon had passed by and the sun was being to lower over the top of the forest, bathing the grounds in bright orange and ruby light. The two made their way back through the Forbidden Forest, laughing over the events of the afternoon. After collecting a decent amount of Leaping Toadstools and other much needed herbs, Luna and Rolf had gone off in search of Luna’s mythical Blingerbus. Unable to find it, Luna decided to introduce Rolf to the native Thestral herd, finding that though he couldn’t see the beasts, he was more than willing to ride one. The results of that particular experiment included Rolf falling onto his backside and nursing a bruised ego while Luna assured him that he did just fine.

Rolf, as it turned out, was much like Luna in regards to beasts. He had a natural gift with the creatures of the Forbidden Forest, something that Rolf bragged about inheriting from his grandfather.

“My grandfather was Newt Scamander,” Rolf explained as they left the forest, his initial shyness long gone. “One day, I want to follow in his footsteps and be a naturalist just like him as the Muggles would call it.”

“I’ve been thinking of doing the same thing,” Luna admitted, skipping lightly as the two made their way across the grounds back toward the castle.

“Maybe we could work together?” Rolf suggested, blushing slightly as Luna’s wide gray eyes met his shocking blue ones.

“I would like that very much Rolf,” Luna admitted, grabbing his hand in hers and giving it a reassuring squeeze. “We work well together.”

Rolf blushed harder at this and stammered out, “D-Do you think that we c-could do th-this again sometime?”

With a slight grin, Luna leaned forward and gave Rolf a tight hug, “Of course.”

Luna pulled away and skipped off toward the castle, unaware that she had spent one glorious, innocent afternoon with the man she would fall in love with one day. Unaware that Rolf Scamander was the man she would spend the rest of her life with. As far as she was concerned, she had made a new friend, a wonderful, brilliant new friend.


End file.
